Energy Doesn’t Lie
This is a post about a name change. Taber Coaching is becoming TaberNext.
But actually, it’s a story about energy.
Two years ago, I launched Taber Coaching. I became an entrepreneur. I wrapped up my coaching certification training. I booked my first clients. I started having deep conversations, helping early career professionals overcome obstacles and grasp onto new opportunities.
But something was blocking me from all the “other” tasks a solo business owner has to do. I wasn’t sure how to market my business. I was completely awkward in sales pitches. I kept changing how I described myself and my work every time I met someone new. I was showing up for my clients and proud of the work we were doing, but I wasn’t showing up for my business.
In the second half of 2024, CiviCo — a civic leadership organization here in Denver — invited me to co-create a four-workshop development experience for emerging leaders. It wasn’t exactly aligned to my coaching business, but it sounded fun and impactful for an audience I care deeply about.
Two others and I designed the experience from scratch. We facilitated every session. I leaned into storytelling and creativity in ways I hadn’t been able to fully express in coaching. And throughout the process, I felt my energy go through the roof.
As an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, I’m literally trained to view the world in energy. But for a while longer, I ignored my own energy and kept trying to make a coaching business happen. Because that was “The Plan.” That was literally the name of this business I created.
Then in May 2025, I was granted an incredible opportunity to facilitate a full-day learning event for recent college hires. The energy immediately came flooding back in. Coming out of that event, I gave myself permission to let go of the “The Plan” and to follow my energy.
Cohort-based programs. Experiential design. A room full of early career professionals. That’s where I come alive. That’s the work.
So here’s what’s changing
Taber Coaching is becoming TaberNext. Developing the Next Generation of Leaders.
The mission is the same. The belief that early career employees are the most under-invested population in organizations hasn’t changed. What’s changed is the form. TaberNext is built around cohort-based workshops and leadership development programs for tech companies that hire early career employees and want to keep them.
The programs are experiential because adults don’t learn from slides. They learn from doing, talking, and being challenged by someone who genuinely cares whether the insight actually lands. Every workshop blends storytelling, peer discussion, reflection, and real activities — and every cohort leaves with something they can use the next day.
I still do some coaching. I’m not walking away from it entirely. But it’s no longer the center. The center is the room. The cohort. And the work that finally fits.
That’s the version of this work that lights me up. And I see it not only in the facilitation room. I’m more excited to network. I’m more excited to talk about my business. I’m more excited to sell because I’m that much more excited about the impact. Energy doesn’t lie.
If you’re at a tech company investing in early career leadership development — or wondering if you should be — I’d love to talk. And if you’ve ever ignored your own energy data a little longer than you should have, I’d love to hear that story too.
Where in your work right now is your energy trying to tell you something?